Wyvern Riders

It was a quite day. At least it was in this particular study room. The only noise came from a man named Jerome who was working hard. Pouring over a large amount of monthly paperwork. He hadn’t realized how much he was thankful for the silence until it, and his focus was interrupted by a sudden, rapid knocking on the door.

“Yes, I hear you, What is it?!”

A young man with sandy hair barged in, a cat’s life being crushed out of existence in his other arm.

“There is a crazy girl out here to see you!”

“Crazy? Would you calm down.” He commanded the boy to stop fidgeting. This boy had some nerve calling someone else crazy. “Did you get her name?”

“I didn’t get a chance. I was about to ask her but she was trying to kill my cat.” Jerome rolled his eyes thinking he was on another one of his wild antics “No! seriously! I barely got Skitter from her before she gutted him with a knife. She said she was taking care of our pest problem.”

Jerome choked down a laugh. This story was too wild to be made up. He wanted to see this girl now, but he was far too busy to be dealing with this stuff.

“Send her away. I don’t see why she needs to see me.”

“I would, but she has a letter from the Captain of the King’s Riders. She won’t let anyone take it but you.”

The air became heavy. Jerome’s expression was serious.

“Stupid boy. You don’t keep the King’s Riders waiting. Send her in.”

The boy ushered to someone outside the door.

“He said to let her in.”

A few moments later a girl who looked to about sixteen walked cautiously through the door. She was eyeing the boy and his cat nervously. She had a bone knife and a letter clutched to her chest like a small girl would a doll.

“Leave us.”

The boy was all too eager to create as much distance between himself and the girl. Quickly closing the door on the way out.

The girl looked to Jerome. “I didn’t want to create a problem.”

“Excuse him he is a little too attached to that cat.” This girl was not at all what he was expecting. “What can I do for you?”

“I was sent here to learn at your academy.” She held up her letter. “Markus said to give this to you.”

He took the letter. It was a large one. It didn’t have the King’s Riders’ seal on it. But it did have the Korllian family seal. He was relived that it wasn’t official business for the king at least. The girl walked over and sat on one of the chairs in front of the desk, examining the curiosities strewn about. Clearly expecting Jerome to read it immediately.

Jerome sat in his own chair and began to read.

Hello old friend

I hope that the girl I have sent to you has not caused any problems. I know this letter is long but I felt I could spare no detail, and before I get to the purpose of the letter, I think I should start from the beginning.

About 3 years ago my squire and I were out surveying an area on the edge of the Black Woods in Siscontaly getting ready to perform training exercises with a new batch of troops. We landed near a river to rest. However, when we landed, the dragons were acting odd. Having picked out a scent of something. When I had my dragon track it. We found a girl who was maybe thirteen. She had no belongings. Her only possession was a knife that she fashioned out of a wyvern’s claw.

The girl was hiding from us, but when she was discovered, she made the creepiest howl I have ever heard from a human. When she did my dragon snapped at her, and if I had not stopped him, he would have eaten her. Before I could react, she charged my dragon and started stabbing at its face like a rabid animal. I jumped down to get her off. But when I did, she saw me and stopped. It was as if she had never seen a human before in her life.

Things took a turn for the worst when a pack of wyverns came flying in. One of the wyverns pulled the girl back with its tail, taking a stance that was protecting the girl. I knew I couldn’t leave her. I was lucky that my squire and his dragon were there. I don’t know any wild wyvern packs daring enough to deal with two dragons at once, especially while we were on the ground. They bared their fangs but also kept their distance.

The girl crawled away from the wyvern that had pulled her back, made another weird call, which calmed the wyvern pack slightly, and walked towards me. She wasn’t concerned about the wyverns at all, she hadn’t even looked at them. In fact, the only thing she was cautious of was our dragons and us. I slowly reached out my hand to her as not to startle her or the wyverns. The wyvern behind her was acting like a mother over its child. I had no doubt that if I showed harm, it would have killed me at the expense of its own life.

The girl reached out to my hand. As she did the mother wyvern hissed, and the girl looked back as if she understood it. But she continued to reach out until our fingers barely touched. When they touched though, another wyvern landed behind her. This one looked like the alpha of the pack. Both the alpha and the mother dragon roared at the girl. She pulled back and ran after them but they lifted off the ground and flew away before she could reach them.

She jumped after the mother wyvern’s tail to hold on but was too slow. The mother looked at her and roared again while in the air and flew away after the rest of the pack. The girl was screaming so inhumanly. She sounded similar to them as much, I think, as a human can sound like a wyvern.

I tried to go to her, but when she heard me walking, she was screaming and growling at me through tears. I tried to reach out to hear again but she stabbed at me with her knife. What happened next, I have sworn my squire to secrecy, and I have not told this story to anyone. I do not want this to come back to me, and ruin my reputation.

When I pulled my hand back it was apparently a sign of weakness as she explained a couple years later. This along with her emotional state, she lunged after me and tried to kill me. And if I were not wearing armor, I would be a dead man right now. She was way stronger and more ferocious than I would expect from a thirteen-year-old girl.

It took everything I had while trying to hold back my dragon and my squire from intervening. But I finally managed to disarm her and hold her back. But then she resorted to biting and clawing, and I still have a scar on my finger from where she managed to get through the hardened leather of my glove. It took some time for her to wear out, and I was thankful when she did because I too was worn out.

She was far to feral to reason with so, I felt it would be best to wait for her to warm up to us until she realized we didn’t mean any harm. We made camp and I gave her my cloak to cover herself with. Of course, she didn’t know what to use it for, but she held onto it anyways. She moaned for hours with that odd wyvern like sound, most of the time looking towards where we last saw the pack of wyverns.

As the night grew colder, she got quite and slowly crept toward the warmth of the fire bit by bit. She watched as we cooked our meal over the fire. She finally trusted us enough to eat. And her expression showed she never had a cooked meal before. I don’t think she knew what to think of it.

Eventually the next day I calmed her and my dragon enough to convince her to get in the saddle. I took her back to the outpost. And I have been rising her since. I have been teaching her basic things like proper behavior, and human etiquette. how to speak and read. I have been trying hard to get the animal out of her. And she has expressed she wants the same thing.

Although she doesn’t talk about it, I know she often misses the pack of wyverns that raised her. But she has been eager to learn everything. I am sure there were many people better suited to raise her but she absolutely refused to interact with anyone else cordially. And it has only been in the last couple of months she has been open at all to anyone else. So, I felt it was time to pass her off to someone else. As I am not a good role model or a father figure, nor do I have the time to do this forever.

The only one I felt was best suited for this was you. I know you already have kids you have been raising. And I completely understand if you do not wish to take on another. I know this is a huge request I am asking of you. But I also know you have far more experience in these matters than me. And also, her unique insight into the behavior of wyverns I believe is something that could be of great benefit to you and your academy, as she was raised by them from, as far as I can tell, since she was only an infant.

If you do not wish to take on the responsibility, send a pigeon and I will come get her myself and try to find another who will take her. If so please look after her for a bit for me. I have been called away by the king for matters I can not speak about. I will not be back for at least a month. And I could not take her with me.

I do not wish to lose trust with a good friend over this. And If I was not called away so urgently, I would have rather talked to you in person. This is a responsibility I have taken upon myself and I am more than willing to continue in it. There will only be complete understand from me.

I pray you are filled with wisdom and guidance in all of this, and even if you are unable maybe you would know one who is well qualified to take her.

Before I end this. There is a matter of her name you need to know as well. I have not given her a name as it felt wrong to me, too much like treating another human as a pet, maybe it doesn’t make sense but I have been calling her girl, or wyvern girl. When I talked to her about this, she told me she will consider it, and will choose a name for herself by the time she meets you.

Thank you, old friend

Markus Korllian.

Jerome breathed in deep taking in all the information he knew was about to flip his whole world upside down. He exhaled loudly which caused the girl to rise out of her chair halfway. She was worried something was not good. But she waited for his response.

He looked at her thinking deeply for a few minutes. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t realize how uncomfortable he was making her until he realized she froze in a half sitting half standing position, and her form was starting to shake running out of strength to keep up the awkward position.

“Please. Relax. There is no need to be worried.”

She fell back into the seat. And leaned forward.

“What did Markus say?”

“A lot. Mostly about how he discovered you.” She held her knife tight to her chest again. Her eyes still locked on his waiting for more. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She held that knife like it was her entire life, but clearly unafraid to use it. Her deep brown eyes had a fierceness to them, even though they were wide in anticipation, and curiosity. It almost made her look psychotic and like she was about to lung after him and slight his throat.

“Did Markus ever tell you what we do at this academy?”

“He said academies are places where people learn things.”

“Indeed. Do you know what we teach here though?”

“No.”

“We train riders to become the Queen’s Haldachons. But only the top best of the students earn that title.” The girl sat in silence. She didn’t know what he was talking about but was waiting to see if he would explain. Realizing this he explained further.

“Haldachons are wyvern riders. More specifically they are warriors who ride wyverns. They used to be warriors for this city, only ever seen in this region, before it was adopted by the empire. And now the warriors serve the queen. And in turn the king, though he rarely uses their service, content with his dragon platoons.”

The girl loosened her posture, and her eyes teared up.

“I will get to see my wyverns again?”

“I don’t know about that. Maybe someday we can track them down if they are still around. But you will certainly be around wyverns, many different types. And around people who understand and ride them.”

The girl’s heart was pounding. She shot forward to the edge of the desk.

“Please take me. I want to be here.”

Jerome’s heart was moved deeply as the girl’s eyes welled with tears.

“It may be a while. You are rather young to be thrown into training here, but as you have so much experience with wyverns already, I won’t let your age be the only thing holding you back from here. We will have to see how things go. But I am more than willing to take you in. And one day you will be out with the others riding your own wyvern. I guarantee it.”

The girl jumped and made an odd sound before she laughed with excitement.

“Before we continue. Markus told me you had a name in mind for yourself.”

She stopped and watched Jerome as if looking for approval. “I had a page of names I thought over. And I would like to choose Ariwaa.”

“Ariwaa? Isn’t that an Elven name?”

She looked concerned. “Oh. Is that bad?”

“No. It is unusual for humans around here to have Elven names but it is not bad or even necessarily unusual in other parts of the world.”

She looked crushed, and disappointed. “I don’t know what an Elven is. But if it is weird, I can choose something else.”

“No. Not at all. In fact, it is an unusual name even for an elf, I don’t see why it would be a problem. If that is what you had your heart set on, then that is the name you will go by. Ariwaa means sunrise over a wing, correct?”

“Uh-hu” the girl perked up. I used to watch the sun rise while resting behind my mother all the time. Or excuse me, not my mother, but… the wyvern who...” She trailed off not sure how to explain, nor sure if she wanted to.

He interrupted, preventing her from having to dredge up the past. “Good. It is all settled then. I will send a letter to Markus and let him know.”

. . .

Two weeks later. The squad’s watcher walked into the command tent. “A pigeon for you captain” Markus opened the message promptly when he saw where it had come from.

The name is Ariwaa. It means “Sunrise over a wing.”

Markus went to the corner of the tent to hide the tear in his eyes. He smiled, even though he knew he most likely would not see her again. It was only for a short while, but the last three years had left a mark on him. And he was proud to see how much the wyvern girl had grown. Something about her choosing a name was of such significance his heart was warmed, and he knew just like the morning suns journey into the afternoon sky her journey had just begun.

“How fitting.”